Alleged sledge-hammer murder over money and drugs, court told

A man who allegedly murdered his friend to steal his money and drugs persuaded the dead man's family to give him more cash to help fund a search, an Adelaide court has been told.

Domenico Antonio Papalia, 30, is on trial for the murder of Edward Camilleri, 50, whose body was found buried in a shed at a market garden at Two Wells in August 2011.

A Supreme Court jury was told Papalia had lured Mr Camilleri to his grandparents' property with the intention of robbing and killing him.

Prosecutor Jim Pearce said Papalia had arranged for another man, Steven Zenuni, to help him commit the crime, trying to convince him with a lie about how Mr Camilleri molested one of Papalia's family members.

Zenuni, 21, pleaded guilty to murder earlier this week.

Mr Pearce told the court the pair had used a hammer and a sledge hammer in the attack.

"It is the prosecution case that the accused arranged to meet Mr Camilleri on that morning because he was in financial difficulty. They were friends. He knew Mr Camilleri had money and he needed money," he said.

"He needed help with his plan so he arranged for a man by the name of Steven Zenuni to come along and help him.

He stole $40,000 from a safe located in Mr Camilleri's home and on top of that he persuaded Mr Camilleri's family to give him money to fund a non-existent search.

Prosecutor Jim Pearce

"The other man, Mr Zenuni, will give evidence as a prosecution witness. He'll tell you that both he and the accused used hammers to kill Mr Camilleri. He'll tell you that the murder was motivated by the accused's need for money.

"He told Mr Zenuni his niece had been molested by a member of the deceased's family. He asked him how he would feel if that had happened to one of his sisters.

"He told Mr Zenuni the man who molested his niece was coming to the property. He told Mr Zenuni he was a dangerous man who carried weapons. On the prosecution case this was just another of the accused's lies."

Mr Pearce told the jury that Papalia knew his grandparents were away in Queensland that weekend for a wedding and the trio had used cocaine in a rear yard.

"At one point Mr Camilleri had left the yard. The accused told Steven Zenuni to hit Mr Camilleri with the hammer when he came back. He didn't understand why he had to do that but he was feeling affected by the cocaine and was mindful that Mr Camilleri was apparently a child molester and a dangerous man who carried weapons."

Mr Pearce said Zenuni had hit Mr Camilleri with the hammer and the pair had wrestled on the floor.

He said when Mr Camilleri had called out to Papalia, asking why he wasn't helping him, Papalia had picked up a sledge hammer and hit him twice on the head, killing him instantly.

Mr Pearce said the jury would hear evidence that Zenuni had left the property in tears while Papalia had then set about concealing his crime, first covering the body with fencing material, then visiting a shop and a hardware store to buy rubber gloves, a tarpaulin and a post hole digger.

False hope for family

Mr Pearce said the murder happened in April but Mr Camilleri's family did not know where he was for four months.

"They turned to the accused for help. The accused wove an elaborate web of deceit, lies and subterfuge to deflect suspicion for the murder away from himself and on to others," he said.

"He stole Mr Camilleri's jewellery and sold it to Cash Converters. He stole tens of thousands of dollars from Mr Camilleri. He stole $40,000 from a safe located in Mr Camilleri's home and on top of that he persuaded Mr Camilleri's family to give him money to fund a non-existent search for Mr Camilleri," he said.

Mr Pearce said Papalia had given the family false hope.

"They gave him thousands and thousands of dollars... they gave him that money on the pretence that he was helping to find their brother, their son and their uncle. He gave them hope when the truth was buried in a shed on a market garden at Two Wells," he said.

The court was told Papalia had then led police to the shed, telling them he had received information that the body may be buried there but they had searched and failed to find anything.

Mr Pearce told the jury Papalia then brought police to the shed a second time, where some drums and pallets in the corner were moved and Mr Camilleri's body was found "in a hole barely deep enough to cover it."

The trial before Justice Michael David is expected to last four weeks.